#historia

these are known as “drop-loop” trousers! i love this detail - it’s very distinctive, although i’d associate it a bit more with the 1940s/50s than the earlier decades of IWTV season 1.

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IWTV’s costumes really embrace the high-waisted silhouettes of menswear in early/mid-20th century america, something that some historical dramas tone down to fit in with modern tastes. (21st century suit pants tend to be tighter and sit lower on the hips, aiming for a “swimmers build” aesthetic.)

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sam reid has the perfect figure for 1930s/40s fashion: a narrow waist and wide shoulders. pleated suit trousers have extra fabric around the hips/ass and are cinched in at the natural waist, which a) is comfortable and b) makes the waist look narrower, creating an almost hourglass shape depending on the cut. to modern eyes it can look more feminine than contemporary men’s suits, which plays into lestat’s Whole Deal.

one pair of lestat’s drop-loop trousers (i wish i could find a better pic!) create even MORE emphasis on the waist by leaving a cummerbund-like waistband of fabric above the belt. it’s the kind of finicky tailoring detail that makes it obvious that lestat is a real clotheshorse. he and louis clearly spend a ton of money on tailoring.

i also suspect that lestat’s american wardrobe was influenced by the fact that he socialized with and lived alongside black people in the new orleans jazz scene. the most exaggerated styles of drop-loop trousers are something i’d associate with Zoot Suits, which were not a white/anglo style and would presumably have been worn by young black men in early 1940s new orleans. (in ep 1, louis is extremely fashionable and accessorized to the hilt, whereas lestat looks like he’s wearing a historical costume.)

on a final note, i love that louis continues to wear high-waisted trousers in the present day. his modern outfits are quite soft, vulnerable and minimalist - close to the kind of simple-but-expensive clothes we’d expect to see on one of the cooler young tech billionaires, but with a silhouette that calls back to his youth.